The First Annual Ig Nobel awards(supporting and rewarding research that cannot or should not be reproduced) are happening once again in Boston, and after twenty years I think it's high time we were represented! If there are five or more attendees from any one group, then those attendees get to march into the hall as an "official delegation". We could, for instance, carry with us a balloon representation of The Noodly One as we enter, then pop it as we find our seats to both represent His spiritual and metaphorical "consumption" by all those in attendance as well as getting a big honking balloon out of the sight lines of those behind us, which is just polite.

The tickets don't go on sale until August 1st, and the ceremony is on Thursday, September 30th; but I think as much advance time as possible may be required for this. I'll put up a reminder closer to the "on sale" date... just in case there's a touch of the anarchies and people lose track of times and the like. I understand that sort of thing can happen.

Any Pastafarians in the Boston area (or within range) who want to attend with us can drop a line here. We are already two, and only five are needed to be an official delegation at the Iggies. Plus, there are the Informal Lectures that happen after the ceremony, where we can ask questions of the winners like: "What role did rum play in your victory?" and "Are rice noodles an acceptable form of pasta to you?" Surely the answers to such questions will be enlightening: they are, after all, award winners.

Let's spread the word to the Nobel Prize Winners who will be in attendance, as well as to the Ig Nobel winners in attendance! Our influence will truly be global as the delegates return home with tales of our glorious faith!

It's still two months until the tickets go on sale, but here's a note I got from Marc Abrams in replay to my asking about "what makes a delegation":

"Ps. I am ccing this to Louise Sacco, Grand Panjandrum of the Delegations. If there are five or more of you, I hope you will decide to come as an official delegation, and so be officially mentioned at the ceremony. To do that, get in touch with Louise after you have the tickets."